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grass-fed butter

There’s just something about a juicy ham during the festive season and we’ve discovered that there really is no need for store bought glaze dripping in refined sugar when fresh oranges, coconut palm sugar and grass-fed butter make for a perfectly delicious glaze concoction!

In this recipe, my good friend Samantha and I used a natural, antibiotic-free and hormone-free spiral-cut ham that was pre-smoked. (Check the ingredients list to ensure there aren’t any Paleo-unfriendly items sneaked in). We then paired the ham with a homemade citrus marinade, which tenderizes the meat and aids the body with the digestion of the ham. It turned out fabulously! Here’s how we did it:

INGREDIENTS

RECIPE

Place your ham (fresh or frozen), in a large oven-compatible dish.
Mix 3 cups of orange juice, the nutmeg, cloves and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a mixing bowl.
Slice the oranges and soak the slices in the marinade for about 10 minutes, before removing the slices and placing them aside for later.
Pour the marinade mixture over the ham, completely drenching it.
Using toothpicks, pin the marinated orange slices to the surface of the ham, then cover the dish with foil and place the dish in the refrigerator to marinade for at least 4 hours (ideally overnight).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the foil and place the dish in oven for about 30 minutes.
In the meanwhile, mix the last cup of orange juice with the coconut palm sugar and melted butter.
Once the 30 minutes have passed, remove the dish from the oven, and work the orange juice, coconut palm sugar and butter mixture into each spiral fold of the pre-sliced ham, pouring any excess over the exterior of the ham before placing the dish back in the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until well cooked.
Remove the glazed ham from the oven and serve warm alongside your choice of vegetables.

Miss mash? You’re not alone and we have you covered!

White potatoes are not considered Paleo-friendly (at least not in the stricter schools of Paleo) as they are not easily digestible by the human body (are considered antinutrients) and break down into sugar. Dr. Loren Cordain writes about this in detail in his interesting post titled, Why Potatoes Are Not Paleo.

In this recipe, mash is recreated using cauliflower, which boasts large quantities of vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium, calcium and fiber, and tastes just as good!

INGREDIENTS

RECIPE

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Place the cauliflower florets, the coconut oil and the salt and pepper in an oven-safe dish and place in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender enough to have a skewer poked through it.

Remove the dish from the oven and allow the cauliflower to cool for a few minutes, before placing it in a food processor, together with the coconut milk (and butter, if you desire a creamier finish).
Pulse for about 1 minute or until smooth.
Plate and enjoy alongside protein and vegetables.

Cookies are always a favorite to bake when we have guests coming over, and this gluten-free, egg-free and refined-sugar-free recipe, that follows the base recipe featured in our book Quick & Fantastic Paleo Cookies, is a safe bet to serve on virtually any occasion.

Raisins offer a natural sweet sensation while providing the body with numerous vitamins and dietary fiber. Walnuts also offer natural healing properties and together add delicious flavor to a cookie I can’t get enough of.

RECIPE

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Place parchment paper or foil sheets over your baking sheet to prevent your cookies from sticking.
Combine the tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda and sea salt in a small bowl.
In a food processor (or using a large bowl and an electric hand mixer) beat the butter and sugar for approximately 2 minutes, or until fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients, water, agave and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and beat until well combined.
Lightly dust arrowroot flour on a clean counter.
Place the cookie dough, raisins and walnuts on the dusted counter and combine them using your hands.

Using a rolling-pin, roll the cookie dough until 1/4 inch thick and then cut out your cookies using a cookie cutter.
(If ever the dough is too sticky to handle, simply add a small amount of arrowroot flour at a time until it becomes manageable.)
Place the cookies on your lined baking sheet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

During my days living in Hawai’i I ate a fair amount of shrimp. Those shrimp shack takeout stands make a wonderful plate lunch, enjoyed with the sound of the ocean in the distance. But the best thing of all was the story behind the only shrimp shack that was run by a woman on the Island of O’ahu, Big Wave Shrimp.

It had been her life long dream to run her own business, but it wasn’t really heard of to do so at the time. Luckily she had a very supportive husband who spent all his savings buying her a truck to turn into the Big Wave Shrimp shack. Many years later, the truck still operates on the North Shore, serving up plate after plate of her famous coconut shrimp to locals and tourists alike.

With that I have set myself up for a challenge–and I don’t proclaim to beat her recipe by any means–but this is a little taste of the coconut shrimp flavor I so vividly remember.

RECIPE

In a medium saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the garlic and stir before adding the shrimp.

Continue to cook on medium heat until the shrimp is thoroughly heated, then sprinkle the shredded coconut over the shrimp and cook for another few minutes, stirring often, until the coconut begins to brown.
Add the coconut milk, stir and let simmer for a few minutes before sprinkling with crushed black pepper, as desired, and enjoying warm.

Merry Christmas to You, our wonderful Paleo friends!

Since Christmas is a time to be thankful, we wanted to let you know just how grateful we are to you for sharing this journey to health with us. Your friendship, comments, advice and support are what keep us going and words can’t adequately express just how appreciative we are, Thank You.

Christmas Traditions

Christmas is different in every household. Mince Pies were a staple holiday treat throughout my childhood in South Africa. My boyfriend’s Italian heritage meant that family style pasta was a tradition at his family Christmas gatherings. What is your Christmas tradition? We would love to hear it! And have you been able to make that tradition Paleo?

A Taste of the Holidays

Since I left South Africa (over eight years ago now) I have craved Mince Pies. I’m not quite sure why they are not a huge hit here like they are back home, but I am determined to change that!

Mince Pies are not mincemeat pies–they are the traditional English Christmas treat with stewed fruit and festive spices–or in other words, pure deliciousness!

This year I couldn’t let another Christmas go by, so I put myself up to the challenge and not only did I make my first Mince Pie ever, I made it Paleo (and alcohol-free):

RECIPE

In a medium pot or large sauté pan, bring all of the Pie Filling ingredients to the boil, then reduce the heat slightly and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the filling is cooking, make the Paleo Pie Crust.
Once the Pie Crust has baked, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Let the pie filling mixture cool before scooping it into the baked Paleo Pie Crust.

Top the mixture with a thin crumbled layer of unbaked Paleo Pie Crust dough to ‘seal’ the pie.

Place it in the oven to bake for another 30 minutes.
Remove the pie from the oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Tip: The pie filling can also be made in advance and refrigerated for a few days, or frozen and used later when a Christmas Pie craving kicks in.

There is just something special about serving a golden-brown roast chicken. Whether you are cooking up a feast for yourself, or preparing a festive dinner, a stuffed chicken roast makes a wonderful center stage to any meal, and is truthfully quite easy to make.

This recipe combines the sweet flavors of caramelized apple with the savory taste of thyme to form a delectable combination that looks good and tastes great. Plus, with those two ingredients added to the dish, you suddenly have a protein dish that is enriched with vitamin C, iron, manganese and fiber.

RECIPE

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Place the chicken upside down in the center of a large oven dish and separate the legs.
Reach under the skin and coat the chicken with a generous amount of grass-fed butter on all sides.
Sprinkle the chicken exterior with two teaspoons of thyme spice.
In a small bowl, mix the apple slices with the honey/agave and another teaspoon of thyme spice.

Once mixed, place the apple and honey/agave mix in the opening between the chicken legs.
Place the stuffed chicken in the oven for 25 minutes.

Turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees F and continue to cook the chicken for about another 45 minutes to an hour.
Once the chicken is well cooked (the interior temperate on a thermometer reaches 165 degrees F), remove the bird from the oven and allow it to sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
When serving, scoop the stuffing out with a spoon and serve it alongside the chicken.
Drizzle the natural juices from the oven dish over the chicken pieces to provide extra flavor and moisture to the dish.

Note: While this recipe calls for the removal of the neck and giblets to make room for the stuffing, these parts of the chicken are excellent sources of protein. They can be added to the dish when the oven temperature is turned down part way through the recipe, or kept separate and cooked later on the stove top. To learn more about Nose To Tail eating, click here.

December wouldn’t be complete without melt-in-your-mouth festive cookies, which is why we’ve got you covered with this Paleo version that is free of gluten and made with natural sugars, natural flours and grass-fed butter.

This recipe follows the base cookie recipe featured in our eBook, Quick & Fantastic Paleo Cookies, but works in the festive flavors of cranberries and almonds.

Cranberries boast high quantities of fiber, manganese and vitamin C and, together with almonds, make a tasty and nutritious treat.

RECIPE

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Place foil or parchment paper sheets over your baking sheet to prevent your cookies from sticking.
Combine the tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda and sea salt in a small bowl.
In a food processor (or using a large bowl and an electric hand mixer) beat the butter and sugar for approximately 2 minutes, or until fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients, water, agave and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and beat until well combined.Lightly dust arrowroot flour on a clean counter.Place the cookie dough, cranberries and almonds on the dusted counter and combine them using your hands.

Once combined, using a rolling-pin, roll the cookie dough until 1/4 inch thick and then cut out your cookies using a cookie cutter.(If ever the dough is too sticky to handle, simply add a small amount of arrowroot flour at a time until it becomes manageable.)
Place the cookies on your lined baking sheet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.